Empowering you to meet regulatory and best practice requirements

The Patient Safety activity this month supports your reading, understanding and implementation of the Delivery Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). It asks you to complete a copy of the newly named ‘Record of Delivery Service Arrangements’ (RDSA) form (formerly entitled the Medicines Delivery Service Agreement (MDSA) form) using a scripted simulated patient discussion that your Patient Safety Champion will give to you. Use this activity as an opportunity to reflect on how you carry out these conversations with patients or representatives and review your completed form with your Patient Safety Champion. If your reflections or discussions identify any development needs, consider setting SMART-ER objectives to meet these.

A blank RDSA form is available to download and print from BootsLive here. 

The barcode scan facility provided by the Columbus Pharmacy Management system has helped significantly reduce dispensing errors associated with picking and assembling an incorrect item(s). However, the Superintendent Pharmacist’s Office still receives reports of errors which involve items that will not scan or have no barcode, where the process for assembling and checking has not been followed and an incorrect medicine has been supplied. Errors reported include ‘look alike, sound alike’ drugs, such as ropinirole and risperidone or quinine and quetiapine.

All pharmacy team members are reminded of the importance of following the correct processes for items that will not scan or have no barcode, as detailed in SOPs: DIS3 and DIS4. This includes writing ‘NB’ (for ‘no barcode’) and the name of the medicine(s) on the ePIF during assembly and initialling the ePIF during the accuracy check. Both of these actions are required to indicate an awareness that the item has not been assessed as correct by pack scanning, and that the necessary vigilance has been applied.

The importance of following the correct ‘No Barcode’ process was highlighted in the November 2022 Patient Safety Champions’ letter and included associated activity for all pharmacy team members. If you or any pharmacy team members have not completed this activity, please speak to your Patient Safety Champion and arrange to do so. It is vital that all pharmacy team members follow processes correctly at all times; this requirement extends to any locum pharmacists who may be working in your pharmacy.

Pharmacists with an Independent Prescribing qualification are reminded of guidance issued by the GPhC stating that they should not prescribe for themselves, their friends or family members, other than in exceptional circumstances. There may also be exceptional circumstances in which a pharmacist needs a product for which the sale requires the direct input and authorisation of a pharmacist, e.g. emergency hormonal contraception. They may need this product for themselves, a friend or a family member. We recognise that most pharmacists work in pharmacies without another pharmacist present.

Under any such circumstances, it is vital that you act with complete transparency, and we recommend you:

• Discuss the need for the item with an appropriate team member in the store
• Contact The Pharmacy Helpdesk to discuss the situation
• Record your decision to self-prescribe/self-authorise the purchase of a medicine as a PIERS Other Pharmacy Event (Professional Decision).